Wood plane and drawknife



S p 11, 1951 E. G. SIMON WOOD PLANE AND DRAWKNIFE Filed April 11, 1947 m m m m E I F Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED SIA'T-ES PATENT: OFFICE 2,567,739 WOODPLANE AND DRKWKNiFE Edwin G. Simon, San Francisco, Galif.

Application April 11, 1947, SeriaINoI 740,900

5 Claims. 1

the operator or which may be pulled towards the operator similarly to spoke shave and drawknife work.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination plane and drawknife adapted for use on both concave and convex surfaces, and for: planing operations across or against the grain of the wood being worked, and

which maybe guided by one hand of the opera torfor light or heavycuts and in conformity with curved surfaces Without permitting the plane iron' to dig into the wood.

Again an object of the present invention is to provide a plane serving as both a block plane and drawknife which is adapted to be made of a minimum number of parts and with the parts so constructed" in materials of dissimilar weights as to concentrate when in use the weight ad jac'ent :the plane". iron and balance the plane along its cuttingedge.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a plane which may be operated by one 3 hand of the operator, with the heel of the hand propelling the plane with the fingers free to guide the plane horizontally to the left or right and to control, in conjunction with the pressure exerted by the heel of the hand, the vertical positioning of the plane iron in conformity with 'the' shape of any'surface being worked.

Still another object of the present invention is to providea combination plane in which the plane handle serves as "both the blade support line-of force'between the portion of the handle pushedby the operator and the cutting edg'e of the plane iron." H

Again another object of the presentinvention is to provide a plane in which the cutting edge of the plane iron is normallyheld'away'froni the work whenthe planeis at rest, preventing injury to the'worhandto'the planeiro'n'j The "invention possessesother objects "and fea tures of advantage, some of which, with 'the'foregoing, will be set forth in the following'des'crip' and plane iron frog, and in which the plane handle is'positioned to provide substantially a straight tion of the preferred'forinbf the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of thespecification. It "is to be un-" derstood; howeverfithat variations' in the" show-y ing -made by the"said' drawings anddescription" may be a'dopted"within the scope of "the'inven- 'tion as set-forth in the claims.

A description of the views:' l V Figural is a perspective view of the combination plane" or drawknife embodying the'features of theprese'n't'invention.

semen: V i

Figures is a side'elevational' viewbf the plane. The plane embodying the features of the present'fi'nv'eiitien" coniprisesfbrieflyl a plane body liaVing' arms-"B and -1 ezrtending transvers'ely therefrom; a mafia-ironshaving a cutting edge S variably positionedwithinthe plane body 4, and a combination handle 'andpla'ne "iron cap I!) resting upon i ron' il and fiiied toth body by means of asetserewll Heretofore, while eng aged 'in precise wood work'a's in violin making and scale model makingiand' esp'e'e'ia1ly=where jconcave and convex surfaces *are encountered; there hasbeen available no adequate'jtool for smoothing and corif forming-'- variably fcurved woodf surfaces. The' wood worker 'relied on avariety of tools, a block plan'e for relatively flaii*surfa6es; a bullnose plane-for working close to corners and perpendicularedges, and for curved-"surfaces; spokeshaves, drawk niv'esand g'oug'eswer'e used, but

the present inven'tion is utilizedfor ubsta'nti-ally flat surfaces,- and for finishing-both convex and concave curved surfaces, as well as for following irregular patterns and-Working across-and against the grain of woods The Plane body is provided with a relieved" portion [2 having an inclined rear'basel3 upon which' the plarie'irori is designed to seat and Whifc'h establishes th 'proper cutting angleof the plane iron or cutter bitrel-ative to the work. The

plane' iron 8 fits? snugly againstparallel transverse sidesn ana ls or portion [2, with the cutting edge 9of "the iron projecting through a, slot l6 prdvided in the bottom H in registration with thereces's' fl 6f the "plane"--body.*As'a means of holding the plane ironwithin the body, the han dle'lfl "overlies-the iron'and thehandlef and iron are secured-to the bodybyineans of the aforesaid screw II, which is preferably: formed with a knurled head l8 forready adjustment -by the op-" erator. A slot 8 extending longitudinally of the plane iron 8 registers with the shank of screw l l and permits longitudinal movement of the plane iron to vary the extent to which the cutting edge 9 protrudes below the bottom I! of the body.

Handle I desirably overlies the plane iron for substantially its entire length, lending strength and rigidity thereto, and for this purpose the handle is formed with a substantially fiat portion I9 approximately equal to the length of the plane iron 8. The handle Ill terminates rearwardly in an upwardly curved concave boss or offset 20 hav ing a shank 2| positioned at an angle to the portion IQ of the handle. The boss 20 affords a conveniently shaped hand-engaging portion for nesting within the palm of the hand, and desirably the workman places the handle boss within the palm and extends his fingers forward along the handle and the plane body for guiding the progress of the plane as it is pushed b pressure exerted from the heel of the hand. It will be noted that the hand engaging portion of the handle is so positioned relative to the cutting edge of the plane iron 8 that a force exerted by the workman on the handle is transmitted in substantially a straight line relation to the cutting edge 9 of the cutter iron. The one-piece handle construction and the reinforcement of the plane iron afforded by the handle portion 1 9 combine with the straightline relation of handle to cutter tip to provide a highly controllable cutting instrument. By a slight wrist motion the workman is able to direct the plane upwardly or downwardly to conform to convex or concave surfaces, and a slight sidewise movement of the wrist enables the plane to follow a twisting horizontal course conforming to a pattern or a grain in the wood.

It is advantageous in performing some surfacing operations, particularly the planing of small cylindrical or tapered members and finishing of dished or concave surfaces to use a cutting tool employing a pulling rather than a pushing movement so that the workman may observe the cutting blade as it proceeds against the work and more accurately guide and control the extent of cutting. Accordingly, and as an important feature of the present invention, the plane body 4 has provided thereon the pair of arms 6 and 1 and as best shown in Figures 1 and 3 the arms incline upwardly from the body and are curved slightly to terminate in rounded tip 22 and 23 respectively. Arms 6 and 1 permit the pulling of the plane toward the operator, and additionally serve when the plane is being pushed by means of the handle in the usual manner as convenient leverage points for the fingers of the workman to more easily and accurately guide the horizontal movement of the plane.

The bottom I! of the plane body is preferably convexly curved, tapering upwardly from adjacent the slot I6 to the edges of the body. This tapering permits a rocking of the plane about the fulcrum of the cutting edge and a more ready conformity to curved surfaces. Depending upon the degree of curvature formed in the bottom I1, and in the type of material in the plane iron 8, the plane may be used on substantially straight or curved surfaces, or exclusively upon wood or upon the softer metals. The body 4 and arms 6 and I are desirably constructed of a relatively durable and hard material, such as brass, while it is desirable to form the handle of a lighter material, such as a plastic or an aluminum alloy, thereby maintaining the desirable concentration of weight adjacent the cutting edge of the tool. However, and as an important feature of the present invention, the length of the rearward extension of the handle and the leverage exerted thereby is sufficient to cause the plane, when unsupported by the hand, and as shown in Figure 3, to rock about the rear edge 24 of the bottom l1, lifting the base l2 of the plane out of contact with the work and protecting both the work and the cutting edge of the plane iron from injurious contact.

I claim:

1. A woodworking tool comprising, a base member having a work-engaging surface convex on the bottom and formed with a rectangular recess in the upper side thereof communicating with said surface in an elongated slot extending widthwise of the member, the bottom of said recess being inclined forwardly to said slot with the plane of said bottom intersecting said slot, a fiat rectangular cutter blade mounted upon said recess bottom and having a forwardly arranged sharpened end thereof positioned through said slot at said work-engaging surface, the sharpened end of said blade being convexly curved in general conformance with the curvature of said surface, a handle having a flat rectangular portion mounted in said recess directly upon said blade to support the latter between said portion and said recess bottom and having an upwardly and rearwardly offset portion formed for engagement in the palm of the hand of the user for forward displacement of said work-engaging surface over the work, and fastening means removably securing said blade and handle in connected position to said base member and said blade having a slot cooperating with said fastening means to permit adjustment thereof into and from said slot.

2. A woodworking tool comprising, a base member having a work-engaging surface convex on the bottom and formed with a rectangular recess in the upper side thereof communicating with said surface in an elongated slot extending widthwise of the member, the bottom of said recess being inclined downwardly and forwardly to said slot with the plane of said bottom intersecting said slot, a fiat rectangular cutter blade mounted upon said recess bottom and having a forwardly arranged sharpened end thereof positioned through said slot at said work-engaging surface, the sharpened end of said blade being convexly curved in general conformance with the curvature of said surface, a handle having a fiat rectangular portion mounted in said recess directly upon said blade to support the latter between said portion and said recess bottom and having an elevated and rearwardly offset end portion formed for engagement in the palm of the hand of the user for forward displacement of the tool over the work, fastening means removably securing said blade and handle in connected position to said base member, and a pair of arms positioned on said base member extending outwardly therefrom substantially parallel to said slot and having the outer ends thereof positioned for engagement by the fingers of the hand for guiding said displacement,

3. A woodworking tool comprising, a base member having a work-engaging surface convex on the bottom and formed with a rectangular recess in the upper side thereof communicating with said surface in an elongated slot extending widthwise of the member, the bottom of said recess being inclined downwardly and forwardly to said slot with the plane of said bottom intersecting said slot, a fiat rectangular cutter blade mount= 5. ed upon said recess bottom and having a forwardly arranged sharpened end thereof positioned through said slot at said work-engaging surface, the sharpened end of said blade being convexly curved in general conformance with the curvature of said surface, a handle having a flat rectangular portion mounted in said recess directly upon said blade to support the latter between said portion and said recess bottom, a substantially convex hand-engaging terminus of said handle at the free end thereof and substantially parallel with said work engaging surface and being formed for engagement in the palm of the hand of the user for forward displacement of said tool over the work, and a pair of arms positioned on said member extending outwardly therefrom substantially parallel to said slot and positioned for engagement by the fingers of the hand in guiding said displacement.

4. In a tool of the character described, a body having a bottom work-engaging surface, a cutter blade carried by said body in a forwardly and downwardly inclined plane and having a sharpened forward edge at said surface, a pair of arms secured to said body and extending transversely from the opposite sides thereof generally parallel to the forward edge of said blade, and a handle secured to said body and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom and terminating in a rearwardly and substantially horizontally extending portion formed for engagement in the palm of the hand of the user for forward displacement of said tool over the work and with the fingers of the hand free to engage said arms for guiding said displacement.

5. In a tool of the character described, a body I having a bottom work-engaging surface, a cutter blade of fiat form carried by said body in a forwardly and downwardly inclined plane and having a sharpened forward edge at said surface, a pair of arms secured to said body and extending transversely from the opposite sides of said body in an outwardly and upwardly inclined relation, a handle having a flat section mounted upon and supporting said blade over substantially the full length thereof, said handle having an adjoining section extending upwardly from the rearward end of said first section and terminating in a third section extending generally horizontally and rearwardly from said second section, said third section being formed for engagement in the palm of the hand of the user for displacement of said work-engaging surface in a forward direction over the work, and said arms being positioned for engagement by the fingers of the hand for guiding such displacement.

EDWIN G. SIMON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 245,093 Reeder Aug. 2, 1881 288,226 Gilson Nov. 13, 1883 992,392 Tucholskl et al May 16, 1911 995,755 Zemborski June 20, 1911 1,994,417 Lee Mar. 12, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,113 Australia July 18, 1932 

